Coronavirus fight is now in the hands of each of us

Next week opens a critical new phase in SA’s struggle against Covid-19. Most of the economy is reopening alongside a tentative phasing-in of schools and tertiary institutions. SA went into an early lockdown on the basis that the country needed to “flatten the curve” to buy time so that the health system was better prepared for a wave of infections and critically ill patients. This was very different to many other countries, which locked down amid a growing death toll and overstretched hospitals.

The pandemic is far from over in our country. In fact the government’s scientific advisers have warned that the terrible peak is yet to come in the next three winter months. The major reason we are moving out of lockdown is not that we have controlled the virus. It is that SA’s fragile economy cannot withstand any more. People are going back into the workplace, public transport and shopping malls with the virus prevalent and even, in some “hot spots”, spreading rapidly.

This means all of us have to become frontline warriors. Our actions must be informed by the need to stop the virus in its tracks; to prevent it replicating and spreading. We have to be mindful. Case studies of infections and of societies that have succeeded in reducing transmissions show that the basics we have all heard about really do matter.

Where possible people should continue to work remotely and those over 60 should self-isolate. We need to maintain social distance, habitually clean our hands, ensure good ventilation, wear masks when outside home, change our outer clothing when returning home, and frequently clean regularly touched surfaces. Anyone who is ill must stay home and anyone who thinks they have symptoms must phone for medical advice.

There have been encouraging developments towards producing a vaccine. But meanwhile the only way of tackling Covid-19 is to prevent transmission. Should this fail, SA will pay a terrible price in terms of loss of life, and might have to return to full lockdown.

Whatever we might think of the government’s response over the past two months and its lockdown regulations — perhaps absurd and ill-considered — as we enter this new stage it is not about what the authorities tell us to do but about our own actions.

Ultimately it is not lockdown but Covid-19 itself that has threatened our economy. How quickly we can bring the spread of the coronavirus under control is critical not only for citizens’ health but for SA’s economic recovery.

The only way of tackling Covid-19 is to prevent transmission. Should this fail, SA will pay a terrible price in lives lost